This week on Indian Times, we speak with writer/film maker Julia Whittey about her 2005 Mother Jones article on Elouise Cobell, who lost her fight with cancer earlier this week.

Many native people this week are taking the time to remember Elouise Cobell, who died from complications from cancer last Sunday in Browning, Montana. Cobell led the largest class action lawsuit ever brought against the US government for mismanagement of Indian trust assets and bilking Native Americans out of billions of dollars owed to them for coal sales, timber harvesting, oil and gas leases and other rights-of-way and lease activity since the 1880’s. It was a 16 year battle, but it was won and President Obama signed it into law last December 2010.